Zimbabwe: Healing, reconciliation and reconstruction

Syracuse University’s Africa Initiative partnered with the Newhouse School of Public Communications to host a three-day symposium from 29 October to 31 October. This crucial meeting brought together key figures from Southern Africa and the United States to deliberate on the question of Zimbabwe's future, the role of healing in socio-political reconstruction, and the role of democratic institutions and an informed citizenry in a peace process that goes beyond partisan proclivities. This symposium was unique in many ways, not only because the meeting was held at a time when the Global Political Agreement (GPA) that brought tentative peace and stability in Zimbabwe was hanging in the balance, or that a key partner in the unity government had threatened to pull out due to alleged frustrations by a coalition partner.

This meeting remains unique in the sense that it aimed to create a space for Zimbabweans themselves to deliberate the present and future of the country. By bringing together representatives of government, civil society, human rights groups, scholars and Zimbabweans in the diaspora, the symposium provided a rare avenue through which we could assess the progress, status, challenges and opportunities for lasting peace, healing and reconstruction for the people of Zimbabwe. Among those who presented at the conference were:

– Senator Sekai Holland, Zimbabwean minister for healing and national cohesion
– Elinor Sisulu. author of Walter and Albertina Sisulu: In our lifetime
– Jestina Mukoko. peace activist and national director, Zimbabwe Peace Project
– Gertrude Hambira. head, General Agriculture and Plantation Workers Union of Zimbabwe
– Thomas Deve, Africa policy analyst, UN Millennium Campaign.

From the United States there were presenters that included, Esau Mavindidze, Imani Countess, TransAfrica Forum, Briggs Bomba, Africa Action, Lavina Hall, Rutgers University, Erin McCandless, The new School and Timothy Scarnecchia, of Kent State University.

The symposium began with a solidarity luncheon with the workers of Syracuse University. Among those invited were Adjuncts United, SEIU Local 200 United, and Teamsters, Local 317. Gertrude Hambira of the Plantation Workers Union (GAPUZ) spoke on the struggles of the workers in Zimbabwe. John Burdick of the Faculty-Labor Fairness Coalition presented a solidarity message.

The symposium then continued in the Herg Auditorium of the Newhouse School, with a reception hosted by Lorraine Branham, the dean of Newhouse School of Communications. In her opening and welcome remarks to participants and guests, Dean Lorraine Branham noted the centrality of a free and unbiased media in advancing the pursuit of justice and stemming impunity. She expressed solidarity with the visitors and representatives of agricultural farm workers, human rights activists, and political and social organisations in Zimbabwe.

The programme included a special breakfast panel on gender and violence in Southern Africa. This well-attended forum was moderated by Syracuse University’s Dr Deborah Pellow and Dr Lavinia Hall from Rutgers University. The Friday schedule also included a special discussion on xenophobic violence against Zimbabweans in South Africa. This project included a video conference (via the Global Collaboratory at the Maxwell School) previously done between Syracuse University students in an Anthropology class and victims of xenophobic violence in South Africa.

Consistent with Syracuse University's ongoing commitment to Scholarship in Action, and the Africa Initiative’s mission of providing space for constructive discourse on Africa and African peoples, the third day of the symposium was dedicated to the Syracuse community to interact with those at the centre of the struggle for peace and dignity in Zimbabwe, and to have a meaningful conversation that transcends the often oversimplified analyses and notions of violence in popular corporate media. This special community event was held on Saturday 31 October 2009 at the Warehouse Auditorium in Downtown Syracuse from 2pm to 5pm. It was co-sponsored by the Pan African Community of Central New York (PACCNY) and included Pan African cuisine served by Jerk Hut restaurant.

REFLECTIONS ON THE EVENTS AT SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY OF THURSDAY AND FRIDAY, 29-31 OCTOBER

The deliberative conference – Zimbabwe: Healing, reconciliation and reconstruction was a huge success for the following reasons:

While the conference was organised in an academic setting, the planning and execution allowed for deliberate and focused reports and discussion which featured ground conditions, ground responses, and the ways in which the regional and global community has been intervening to bring about the processes of healing, reconciliation and reconstruction in Zimbabwe. This approach was reinforced by the balance between academic and non-academic professionals who were invited to present papers and to participate in the deliberations. The organisers must be credited for putting this forum together. Credit is due to the young people of Africa Initiative who did most of the work.

One question that dominated the symposium was the question of state sponsored violence. In her keynote address, Minister Sekai Holland drew attention to the dogged and painstaking work of the Organ on national healing, reconciliation and integration. Under the portfolio, Minister Sekai Holland is working with fellow ministers of state John Nkomo (Zanu-PF) and Gibson Sibanda (MDC-M) to heal the Zimbabwean nation scarred by state-sponsored violence and bitter hatred over the past 10 years. The position taken by the organ thus far is that is that issues of violence have never been adequately addressed in Zimbabwe and to do that there is a need to take a long look into the past and appreciate the way violence has shaped who we are as communities.

Healing can start to happen when there is truth about what has happened in the past – the liberation struggle, Gukurahundi and all the other forms of violence that have been waged on different communities in independent Zimbabwe. The thrust of the argument of not laying blame informs a discussion that acknowledges violence going all the way to pre-colonial times and how this has shaped some of our behaviours and responses to issues of violence and abuse that is taking place in our society today. It would be an understatement to add that this provoked healthy discussions and divergent views.

This conference was an important aspect of the critical intervention which became necessary as a result of the deteriorated social, economic and political climate in Zimbabwe. It served to open new spaces for debate and discussion. Debate and discussion which will, in my view, contribute to the process of rebirth which is beginning in the country.

In this light, the conference received reports on the situation in Zimbabwe and the struggles of its people to foster a society based on respect for the equal right of all the citizens to the resources of the country. Such spaces for debate and discussion is especially necessary because Zimbabwe and its counterpart in South Africa have had to combine its post colonial with an anti neo-colonial phase of development. As a result the post independence phase has been littered with the following problems:

– How to address the issues of historical and structural inequalities located in the land problem
– How to address the issue of gender oppression and patriarchy
– How to address the issue of racial and ethnic chauvinism
– How to heal from long standing historical acts of violence that have dogged the history of Zimbabwe
– How society can openly discuss long-standing wounds such as that of Gukurahundi in a way that can lead to national and regional healing
– How to address the rise in violence, especially against women, against the poor, against political opponents, against immigrant workers, and against white farmers
– How to address the growth of corruption now evident in the state, in the security forces, and which is seeping into the fabric of the culture.

The underlying current that guided the debates and discussion was the historical and structural problems that confront the society. The issues of oppression and exploitation based on race, gender, and entitlements organised around the land question. The confluence between the land, the ethnic, gender and the national questions and the response of the post independence government formed the base, and was the entry point within which the reports from the ground and the discussion at the conference took place. There was the stress from the symposium that a new land audit was necessary to ensure that land is in the hands of those who farm it.

From the background of these monumental issues that confront the country today, the conference examined the role of the global economy. Special attention was placed on the ESAP, the structural adjustment formula implemented in Zimbabwe in the period of transition from minority to majority rule. It was felt that the land question, the ethnic question, the gender question cannot be divorced from the manner in which neo-liberal approaches served to counteract and limit the possibilities for the creation of a just society based on an equitable formula for redistributing land. It was also reinforced that the neo-liberal focus on stock exchanges and old fashion mining conditions do not provide an alternative to the past forms of economic exploitation.

Those who took this approach, in particular Briggs Bomba and Thomas Deve felt that enough emphasis is not placed on the ways in which restructuring at the global level pushes local decision making. Many participants drew attention to the fact that the economic recession at the global level imposed greater hardships on the poor and exploited. There was also a vigorous discussion on the ways in which deregulation and liberalisation contributed to the deepening corruption that has consumed the state, the security forces, state officials, and politicians.

From this background, an important thread that emerged to guide the discussion around issues of healing and reconstruction was the endemic presence of a corrupt state structure, and its involvement in violence. Especially since this state – which must bear responsibility for the forced removal of the poor, chaos, for famine, and for violence –continues to maintain relative control in the country.

DEALING WITH THE ISSUES

From the background of the tentative peace that resulted from the formation of the inclusive government (emanating from the Global Political Agreement (GPA), conference participants received and discussed reports of the human rights situation, the food security problem, the problems of land reform, the unemployment crisis, the condition of the farm workers and the reduction in the number of farm workers which resulted from the forcible take-over of farms. Based on the discussions which ensued on these issues, the following areas of consensus emerged.

First, what to do about violence against the person. Should the society turn a new leaf without addressing the matter of crimes against the person? From the human rights standpoint, and this was ably addressed by Elinor Sisulu, the society cannot move forward, healing cannot begin without justice for those who have suffered at the hands of corrupt officials and the security forces. Healing, reconstruction, and reconciliation can only begin if and when the society recognises wrongs, find solutions to address past and current crimes, and forges a path towards respect for the human rights of all its citizens.

Second, how to create equitable land redistribution to allow white, black, the upper and lower classes, and male and female to participate in the economic future of Zimbabwe.
Having recognised that ‘Land Reform’ is yet to take place, conference participants in particular Minister Sekai Holland and leader of the Farm Workers Union, Gertrude Hambira, presented scenarios for the furtherance of the discussion on this matter. Both of these leaders recognised the importance of a just and equitable land reform for Zimbabwe to move forward. Minister Holland outlined the approach that the non-ministerial body, the organ which has been established by the joint government will in the near future make pronouncements on how to proceed on land reform.

She explained that one basis for forward movement is located in the demands and program for Land Reform as outlined in the platform of the MDC. On the other hand Gertrude Hambira and the farm workers union which she represents is calling for land to the landless – that is the setting aside of land adjoining large landed estates for the creation of villages. Such villages would feature the growth of subsistence agricultural communities, which inevitably would supplement the household income of the farm worker.

Third, the role of the Zimbabwe diaspora in the process of healing and reconstruction was stressed. Esau Mavindidze made a presentation on the pivotal role of the more than four million Zimbabweans in the reconstruction process. Drawing attention to the importance of remittances in the society, Mavindidze noted that the Zimbabwean diaspora had to take cognizance of the fact that they were an important constituency in the reconstruction of Zimbabwe. He said Diaspora communities, organizations and activists had to be networked to create conditions to effectively engage the home country politically and in other areas of reconstructions such as knowledge transfer, business creation and the promotion of knowledge intensive Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

Also noted was the fact that brain drain was a key component of the overall character of human flight from Zimbabwe since a significant percentage of those who left are professionals and skilled people. This crippling flight of some of the country’s best brains has escalated to levels that have serious implications for the reconstruction of Zimbabwe since there is currently no coordinated effort for these expatriates to participate. The symposium noted that the human capital available in the diaspora concerns the level of education, training, skills and knowledge that might be drawn on for the home-country’s reconstruction initiatives.

OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The following observations and recommendations were made:

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and other Knowledge Management (KM) techniques, if utilised appropriately, can enhance the potential role of the diaspora as meaningful change agents in the social, cultural and intellectual aspects of Zimbabwe.

ICTs have rendered geography irrelevant. As a result Zimbabwean skilled personnel scattered throughout the world can develop common agendas and identities, even across large geographical distances, making it easier for them to become involved in the reconstruction process in Zimbabwe.
There are greater engagement possibilities, including increased foreign direct investment, creation of web-based professional, social, and political networks, and advocacy initiatives.

The task is to create professional associations coordinated within well thought out ICT platforms that can channel programmes that match the needs in human capital in the home country with the supply of diaspora skills abroad.

Engagement with the society at all levels will be easier when the diaspora has organised itself. On its part, the emerging progressive leadership must come up with a comprehensive policy frame-work based on the assumption that without any support and incentives, the skills available in the diaspora will not be transferred to Zimbabwe.

This level of engagement will keep the diaspora focused on Zimbabwe and playing constructive roles, which will make them relevant and create bridges for the possibilities of moving back to the homeland.

COORDINATING ADVOCACY WITH INFORMATION AND LEGISLATION.

Imani Countess of TransAfrica Forum outlined the efforts being undertaken by TransAfrica to educate the public in the United States on the current state of the peoples of Zimbabwe. The historical role of TransAfrica in working with the legislators on Capitol Hill was outlined, especially in relation to the current legislative initiatives being considered under the leadership of the Congressional Black Caucus.

While much was achieved by this conference, a lot of work still needs to be done to support help the GPA and people of Zimbabwe as they approach this new phase. Follow-up is required to address the broad areas of consensus that emerged in Syracuse. Specialised conferences and discussion involving all stakeholders should be attempted. The broad areas for these conferences could be: Land reform for the twenty first century: How will reform produce healing and integrate Zimbabwe into a new global economy; Democratic reform for Zimbabwe: The role of indigenous knowledge and culture in fostering democracy and democratic institutions in Zimbabwe; UBUNTU and the human spirit: The meaning of freedom and human rights for development.

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